Mirra Andreeva has explained how Roger Federer helped her ahead of winning the French Open.
Andreeva beat Maja Chwalinska 6-3, 6-2 to win her first Grand Slam title in Paris.
The 19-year-old was triumphant in the French Open final, with Andreeva bouncing back from her defeat to Marta Kostyuk in the Madrid Open final.
When asked about how she was able to regroup from the disappointment of losing in the Madrid final, Andreeva has made a comment about Federer.
Mirra Andreeva explains why she watched Roger Federer matches after the Madrid Open
Andreeva was asked in her post-match press conference about her response following the Madrid Open final, to which she revealed that she really focussed on the lessons she had gained from her psychologist.
The French Open champion also revealed that she watched lots of Federer’s matches, with Andreeva trying to gain inspiration from the 20-time Grand Slam champion.
“I would not say that there was a big reset or something I decided to switch completely or to change the approach for matches,” said Andreeva.
“There was nothing like this, I just decided, like my psychologist says you can always choose how you are going to be on the court and how you are going to play and who you are going to be as a person as well.
“I just decided to choose to be a fighter and I also felt like I watched a lot of Roger [Federer’s] matches here. I am not going to have the same aura ever. Nobody is going to have the same aura. But I really wanted to try and impersonate the way he behaves a little bit on the court, because I love watching him on the court when he used to play.
“Maybe that helped me a little bit, because I really wanted to look good on the court and not be frustrated or be not happy with how I played. Also for the people it’s nice to watch how players try their best and fight and compete so I just felt that was what I wanted to do. That’s what I was focusing on.”
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Although Andreeva claims she will never have the same on-court aura as Federer, she has achieved something that the Swiss did not in his career.
Andreeva is a Grand Slam champion already at 19 years old, while Federer did not win his first major title until a couple of years later.
Federer’s first Grand Slam victory came at Wimbledon in 2003, when he was 21 years old, as he beat Mark Philippoussis in the final.
This was the start of a huge Grand Slam haul for Federer, and Andreeva is also predicted to win more Grand Slams in her career.
Andreeva’s next major tournament is at Wimbledon, where she reached the quarter-finals last year.
